The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com

Friday, April 20, 2012

Jury nullification case dismissed

I just love that this guy -- fighting for his right to tell potential jurors to say not guilty -- was pro-se and won. It really bothered me that the government charged him with a federal crime for protected speech. From the Times:

The next time the 80-year-old retired chemistry professor takes his
protest to the plaza outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan, he may
make it home without being locked up.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the dismissal of an indictment
against the professor, Julian P. Heicklen, who had been charged with
jury tampering for advocating the controversial position known as jury
nullification while outside the courthouse.

Mr. Heicklen had repeatedly stood with a “Jury Info” sign and handed out
brochures supporting nullification, the view that jurors who disagree
with a law may ignore their oaths and vote to acquit a defendant accused
of violating it.

Prosecutors said such advocacy, “directed as it is to jurors, would be
both criminal and without constitutional protections no matter where it
occurred.”

But the judge, Kimba M. Wood
of Federal District Court, wrote that a person violated the jury
tampering statute only when he or she knowingly tried to influence a
juror’s decision through a written communication “made in relation to a
specific case pending before that juror.”

Judge Wood added that she would not “stretch the interpretation” of the
statute to cover speech that was “not meant to influence” a juror’s
actions in a specific case.

Mr. Heicklen expressed pleasure at the ruling. “Not just for me,” he
said. “I think it’s a major decision for the country.”

He added: “This is better than having them throw me in jail.”

Well said. Well done Judge Wood. The only thing better would have been a jury finding him not guilty....

2 comments:

Bob Becerra
said...

I believe jury nullification is a right of every jury, and is well grounded in our liberal democratic traditions. I think the jury should be instructed by the Court on the power of nullification. The fact that this person was charged for advocating it outside a courthouse is an outrage.

Was there a particular law he wanted jurors to nullify? Also, America does not have liberal traditions, but it does have democratic traditions. There is a difference. I'm glad the indictment was dismissed.

The Southern District of Florida blog was started by David Oscar Markus, who is a criminal trial and appellate lawyer in Miami, Florida. He frequently practices in federal courts around the country, including his hometown, the Southern District of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a former law clerk to then-Chief Judge of the District, Edward B. Davis.